When I got back to the inn, sure enough Zeno had gone out drinking with Kirsten and some of the self-defense corps members.
”Right then, I’ll just get this lot weighed up and grab us a proper pint, shall I?” Zeno’s cheerful bark from earlier still echoed in my head. That guy really did love his booze…
”Empirical observation indicates that alcohol consumption within social cohorts fosters group cohesion,” Kirsten had noted with analytical precision, joining him without a second thought.
So I figured I’d go eat with Captain Elenora, but for some reason she hurried off to her room and shut herself in.
”Pray forgive me, Lord Alfred, but I must retire to my quarters immediately,” she had murmured with formal restraint before fleeing.
She’d seemed down ever since we left the Guild, leaving me to wonder what was wrong.
Now I was on my own, trying to figure out what to do about dinner, when the innkeeper handed me a note with a message that had come for me.
It was from Natalie.
She said she’d gotten in touch with a merchant she recommended, letting me know we could meet at the Guild tomorrow afternoon.
I found a total W merchant for you! Let’s do lunch after if you’re free, her note read in her usual modern style.
I tipped the innkeeper and asked him to pass along my agreement to Natalie.
I also asked about dinner, and he said they could serve me for an extra charge, so I took them up on it and ate alone.
Back in my room, I started thinking through tomorrow’s negotiation.
First thing we need is food.
Right now, our village can only get meat from hunting and whatever we gather from the mountains, meaning everything else has to be bought from merchants.
Until the fields we cleared on the eastern plains start producing, we’ll have to keep scraping by like this whenever food runs low, at least until the relief supplies arrive.
So tomorrow, this is the most important deal. I really want to get food for the villagers, but if I ask for a huge amount right from the start, they might try to take advantage of me.
On the other hand, if I start small and slowly ask for more, they might think I don’t trust them and get suspicious.
Ugh. This is why I hate negotiating.
A merchant recommended by Natalie, huh. I wonder what kind of person they are. Well, I’ve got the funds now, so maybe I’ll start with a slightly bigger offer…
…But then again, funds…
From my past life memories and light novel knowledge, I knew I could make money, but I never expected to end up with four thousand gold coins in just a few months.
With that much, I could even hire a mercenary company for the village. But no-those types will turn on you as soon as you offer them more money, and I don’t want to bring that kind of risk into the village.
…So what’s the right move here…
…Knock, knock…
I was going around in circles with my thoughts when I heard a soft knock at the door.
”Come in, who is it?”
”Pray forgive my intrusion at such an unseemly hour, Lord Alfred. It is Elenora,” a polite voice called out.
I opened the door, and there stood Elenora, looking even more down than before.
”I wonder… might I trouble you for a brief moment of your time, if you would be so gracious?”
”Aye, course. Come on in.”
…This feels familiar somehow. Last time this happened, I ended up holding head maid Camilla that night.
”Allow me to express my profound gratitude, young Master,” Camilla had whispered with absolute deference during her late visit back then. “I exist merely to attend to your every desire.”
Not that I expect that again… that’d be too convenient…
”I offer my most sincere and humblest apologies for the grave trouble I caused you today!”
The moment she stepped into the room, Elenora bowed her head sharply, her posture stiff as a board.
”Whoa! Hey, what’s all this all of a sudden?”
”It was entirely my own wretched foolishness that permitted that Guild woman to provoke me, ultimately causing you severe inconvenience, Lord Alfred. Had I merely exercised proper restraint and maintained my silence, you would not have been compelled to divulge the village’s invaluable intelligence. My own short-sightedness… and yet I presume to hold the title of captain, putting our entire domain at risk. I am deeply ashamed. I shall submit to whatever chastisement you deem appropriate…”
Her fists were clenched tight, and her body trembled slightly, clearly beating herself up over this.
”Ah, so that’s why you’ve been so down, like. You don’t need to worry about it that much. I mean, aye, you suddenly shouting did catch me off guard… but that’s all it was.”
”All… all it was…?”
”All I said about new info was that we’d be registering the light magic tools with the Commercial Guild soon. But that was already planned, right? And anything else I said-well, folks outside the Guild probably already know that stuff anyway. So I didn’t really reveal anything important. See? Nothing to get worked up over, is there?”
”No, but… nevertheless…”
”Besides, your job is guarding, not negotiating. It’s totally normal that you didn’t handle that perfectly. You did your actual job just fine. Today, you kept watch the whole time like a good guard should, making me feel right safe. Honestly, I’m glad you were there. So you really don’t need to worry.”
”Lord Alfred…”
”Oh, and hey! I’ve got another Guild meeting tomorrow afternoon to see that merchant. So I’m counting on you for guard duty again!”
I gave her a warm smile.
”Ah! You are far too merciful, Lord Alfred! How could I possibly decline when you speak to me with such overwhelming kindness…?”
”Wait, don’t say no!”
”Yet… tomorrow’s engagement involves a professional merchant-a master negotiator. Should I commit another grievous error, it might be far more prudent for you to select another guard in my stead…”
”Nope.”
”I beg your pardon?”
”I said nope. I’m going to the Guild with you, so get ready, alright?”
”Why… why must you show such extraordinary grace toward me?”
”Eh?”
”Why are you so exceedingly good to me? When you treat me with such unearned favor… whatever am I to do…?”
She looked down for a while as if she didn’t know what to do, then suddenly lifted her head with a determined look.
”Lord Alfred… I gratefully accept your boundless generosity. However, the indisputable fact remains that I committed a grave error. I simply cannot pardon myself if this matter passes without consequence. Therefore, I must beg of you-please impose some form of punishment upon me.”
”Punishment?”
”Indeed! I pray you grant me this request. Should you simply overlook my failure, I shall never regain my peace of mind!”
That stubborn honesty is so like her.
”Hmm. But I don’t see it as a mistake on your part… and even if I did punish you, what would I even do, like?”
”Well… for instance, you might strip me of my position as captain of the self-defense corps…”
”That’d cause proper trouble for everyone, so no.”
”Then… perhaps a severe reduction in my allowance?”
”You barely make anything as it is, don’t you? You wouldn’t even be able to buy basic supplies. Oh, but since I just got a big chunk of money, let’s raise everyone’s pay in the self-defense corps!”
”Ah! Thank you so very much! Everyone shall be immensely overjoyed!! …Wait, that is entirely beside the point…”
”And we’ll give raises to the others too, grand stuff…”
”Then… on our journey home, I shall run the entire distance to Lindrott Village on foot! Or perhaps carry a heavy barrel upon my back…!”
”Are you mental!? No way. What if monsters or bandits attack you on the way? We need you to protect everyone, don’t we?”
”Then… I shall shave my head completely bald…!”
”Your little sister Misha would cry her eyes out if she saw that, so absolutely not!”
”Big brother Alfred gotta bring back super pretty toys for Misha! Misha don’t want scary bald sister!” I could practically hear my little sister’s innocent voice crying out in my head.
”Then I shall abstain from all sustenance until our return…!”
”You’ll die, lass!?”
”Then! Bind me securely, drop hot candle wax upon my skin, and strike me with a whip while I… haah, haah…”
”I’m not into that stuff at all!? And stop the heavy breathing, will you!?”
”Then… might I offer my personal services to you, Lord Alfred…?”
”Excuse me?”
”I mean… what if I were to attend to you intimately…?”
”Elenora? When you say attend… you mean that kind of service?”
”Indeed… th-that manner of service…”
I noticed her ears were bright red all the way to the tips.
”Um, have you ever… you know, done that before?”
”No! I swear upon my honor, I have never engaged in such scandalous affairs before!!”
”Yun. Then do you even know what that kind of service involves, like?”
”Aye, guv’nor! I’ve seen it with me own eyes, I have!” Yun, one of our corps members, blurted out from the hallway with a hearty laugh as he passed by. “No mistaking what goes on there!”
”Yes… I have witnessed it before..,” Elenora added softly, ignoring the commotion outside.
”You’ve seen it?”
”Indeed. Head maid Camilla performing… oh!?”
”Oh really? Elenora? What about Camilla?”
”Oh… um, well… that is…”
Elenora could feel cold sweat pouring from her entire body, completely caught out.
Trivia:
- Alfred’s past life as a Japanese office worker gives him knowledge of light novels, which he explicitly credits for his financial success in this world.
- The incident with Camilla is referenced as a parallel to Elenora’s current situation, establishing a pattern in Alfred’s relationships with his female subordinates.
- Elenora’s witnessed Camilla’s intimate moment with Alfred, creating an unspoken layer of tension that she reveals accidentally.